57. The future of US unionization and labor

Dr. Lafer earned his bachelor’s in economics from Swarthmore College and his Ph.D. from Yale in political science. He has taught at numerous colleges around the world including the University of Oregon, UMass Amherst, Tel Aviv University, and Hebrew University. His work and teachings have focused on industrial policy and labor law. From 2009-2010 he served as Senior Policy Advisor to the United States Congress as part of its Committee on Education and Labor. Dr. Lafer is the author of "The Job Training Charade" and "The One Percent," both examinations of the failure of modern economic and labor policy in America. He is currently a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington D.C. where he studies topics such as unions and labor law. Together we discussed the decline of union membership, why the decline of big labor led to increased influence from non-profits, and how a better-planned tax system can better serve working-class Americans. To check out more of our content, including our research, visit our website: https://www.hgsss.org/